Is a Thousand Trails Membership Worth It?

Our Experience Buying a Used Membership for Full-Time RV Travel

https://thousandtrails.com/memberships

https://www.campgroundmembershipoutlet.com

When we decided to sell our home and start traveling full-time in our RV in April 2024, campground costs were obviously going to be one of our biggest ongoing expenses.

That’s where Thousand Trails came in.

We purchased a used Thousand Trails Adventure membership right when we started traveling full-time, and after more than two years of using it while traveling around the country, I can confidently say that our membership has already paid for itself in what we’ve saved on nightly campground fees.

But that doesn’t mean we love everything about Thousand Trails.

Our relationship with Thousand Trails is probably best described as love/hate.

We love what it has done for our travel budget.

The actual campgrounds? Well…that’s a little more complicated.

We Bought Our Thousand Trails Membership Used

Instead of purchasing our membership directly from Thousand Trails, we bought a resale membership through Campground Membership Outlet.

If you’re considering purchasing a lifetime Thousand Trails membership, I absolutely recommend looking into the resale market before buying anything.

Our experience with Campground Membership Outlet was incredibly simple, and we got a huge deal on our membership.

We purchased the Adventure membership, and the company helped us through the transfer process. It was much easier than I expected, and purchasing used allowed us to get the type of membership we wanted without paying what a comparable membership would have cost us new.

One thing that’s really important to understand is that Thousand Trails memberships can vary.

Benefits can depend on the specific contract, when the membership was originally purchased, and whether you’re purchasing directly from Thousand Trails or buying a resale membership.

So before purchasing any membership, make sure you understand exactly what is included in the specific contract you’re buying.

What’s Included in Our Adventure Membership?

Our particular Adventure membership allows us to stay at participating Thousand Trails campgrounds for up to 21 nights at a time.

One of the most valuable benefits for us is being able to go directly from one Thousand Trails campground to another without having to spend time outside the system.

Our membership includes:

• Stays of up to 21 nights
• Park-to-park travel with no required time out of the Thousand Trails system
• Access 365 days a year with no nightly camping fee at included resorts
• Reservations up to 180 days in advance
• 50% off cabin rentals when booking five nights or longer
• Up to eight Adult Family Benefit cards each year
• The option to stay an additional seven nights four times per year after a 21-night stay for $29
• The option to stay an additional seven nights twice per year during high-use periods for $99
• Access to 81 membership resorts across Thousand Trails, NACO, Leisure Time, Mid-Atlantic, and Outdoor World

We also have the option to add Trails Collection Plus annually, which gives us access to additional participating Encore campgrounds outside our core membership. We opted in for this our first two years and opted our for our 3rd year. It is definitely more useable on the east coast in our experience- especially if you plan on spending a good amount of time in Florida!

At the time we received our membership information, the Trails Collection Plus add-on was $725 per year, and our annual membership dues were also $725.

Comparable Adventure memberships were averaging around $9,950 at the time, including transfer fees, although pricing can change and resale memberships can vary significantly depending on the individual contract. Compare this to the $16-17k adventure memberships typically sell for new.

*Those numbers reflect the information associated with our membership and the pricing we were given—not necessarily what someone purchasing a membership today will pay.

Why Thousand Trails Works for Us

The biggest benefit is simple:

We don’t pay a nightly camping fee when we stay at campgrounds included in our membership.

When you’re traveling full-time, campground fees add up incredibly fast.

Even at $50 per night, a week at a campground costs $350.

Spend a month paying that rate, and you’re looking at around $1,500.

And plenty of RV resorts cost significantly more than $50 per night.

Being able to spend one, two, or even three weeks at a Thousand Trails campground without paying a nightly fee has saved us a substantial amount of money over the course of our travels.

Since purchasing our membership in April 2024, we feel that it has already paid for itself.

That’s the part we love.

Some of Our Favorite (and least favorite) Thousand Trails Campgrounds

While Thousand Trails can be hit or miss, there are definitely some locations that have stood out to us in a really positive way.

Thousand Trails Hidden Cover in Arley, Alabama has been one of our favorites thanks to its beautiful Lewis Smith lake access. It’s a great spot if you enjoy being near the water and want a more scenic setting.

We also really liked Narrows Too in Maine, which is right on the water. It also is 5-10 minutes away from beautiful Acadia National Park.The views there are hard to beat, and it felt like a unique experience compared to many other Thousand Trails locations.

The Thousand Trails Kenisee Lake in Jefferson, Ohio surprised us in a good way. Even though it wasn’t in our favorite location overall, the campground itself was well maintained, had a great fishing spot, and made for a comfortable stay.

And Thousand Trails Lake Conroe in Willis, Texas stood out for being very family-friendly. There were a lot of activities for kids, and the campground was well maintained, which made it an easy place for us to settle in for a bit.

These are the kinds of parks that remind us why we keep using our membership.

That said, not every Thousand Trails campground has felt as comfortable or secure. We’ve stayed at locations where safety was more of a concern than we would have liked. For example, at the Thousand Trails in Las Vegas, my husband witnessed a man jump the fence with bolt cutters, and we heard multiple reports from other campers about bikes and gear being stolen.

We’ve also stayed at a Thousand Trails where a registered SO was living there as an annual resident, which was something we weren’t aware of ahead of time and definitely impacted how we felt about the stay.

Because of experiences like these, we’ve learned that it’s really important to research and vet individual Thousand Trails campgrounds before booking—especially when traveling with kids.

Now for the Part We Don’t Love

Thousand Trails isn’t where we stay when we’re looking for luxury.

In our experience, the campgrounds are often not maintained to the same standard as many privately owned RV resorts we’ve visited.

Grass may be overgrown.

Roads and campsites can be dusty and dirty.

There are often a ton of trees to navigate around with a large RV.

Sites may not have full hookups.

And amenities can be very hit or miss.

A campground might advertise pools, hot tubs, or other amenities, but we’ve learned not to assume everything will necessarily be open or operational when we arrive.

That’s not true of every Thousand Trails campground, of course, but we’ve stayed at enough of them that we’ve learned to adjust our expectations.

If we’re staying at Thousand Trails, we’re usually choosing practicality and affordability over luxury.

Making Reservations Can Be Frustrating

The reservation system is probably another one of our biggest complaints.

Making a reservation online isn’t always as simple as I think it should be.

And when we need to call someone, it can take patience to work through the automated phone system and wait for a callback.

Thousand Trails has added an online chat feature, which has made things easier for us.

And I will say that when we finally get ahold of an actual person, we’ve generally found the representatives to be very helpful. They’ve often been able to help us find or adjust reservations when we’ve needed them.

Getting to that person can sometimes be the frustrating part.

You Usually Don’t Choose Your Campsite

Another difference between Thousand Trails and many traditional RV resorts is that you generally don’t select a specific campsite when making your reservation.

You provide information about your RV and your hookup needs, and the campground assigns or accommodates you when you arrive.

Sometimes you can call ahead and request a particular site or ask where you’ve been assigned, but even then, things can change.

For example, when we stayed at Thousand Trails Bend-Sunriver with friends, they called ahead and were given a campsite number. By the time we arrived, their site assignment had changed.

We’ve learned not to get too attached to a particular campsite until we’re actually parked in it.

Our Expectations When Staying at Thousand Trails

At this point, we know what we’re signing up for.

We’re not expecting a luxury RV resort.

We’re expecting somewhere reasonably safe and functional where we can park our RV while we explore an area.

If we get a level site, the hookups we need, decent internet access, and working amenities, we’re generally pretty happy.

Would I prefer beautifully landscaped campsites, paved roads, full hookups, sparkling pools, and perfectly maintained amenities?

Of course.

But if that campground costs us $500 for the week and Thousand Trails costs us $0 in nightly fees, I’m willing to put up with some dust and uncut grass.

That’s the trade-off we’ve chosen.